Frequently Asked Questions

General

How do I request help regarding capital equipment?

For assistance, please send an email to betshelp@berkeley.edu.

Your question(s) will be answered within 24 hours of receipt.

Note that all capital equipment processes is based upon four principal policies, Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-122, BUS-29, and BUS-38

How do you request a Salvage pickup?

You can request a Salvage pickup through your Equipment Custodian.

Surplus

How do I shop for surplus items?

Furniture items are sold in our showroom. Please email ucsurplus@berkeley.edu for appointments only. 

All other items are sold via Publicsurplus.com, under UC Berkeley. 

Driver Authorization

How does Fleet Services evaluate a driving record?

Excluded From Driving

Fleet Services first determines whether the content of the driving record immediately excludes the driver from driving on University business. Fleet notifies Human Resources and Risk Services that the driver is not authorized to drive on University business. Human Resources will in turn notify the department. The department must remove the driver from driving duty. Any further action should be discussed with Human Resources or the appropriate Labor Relations office. 

  • License suspended
  • License revoked
  • License never issued
  • Excluded as a consequence of further review (see next section)

Further Review Required

Fleet determines whether the content of the driving record requires further review.

  • License expired more than 1 month
  • Commercial license with medical certificate expired
  • License restricted through court or administrative action

Fleet notifies Human Resources and requests further information. Human Resources contacts the department and obtains evidence of renewal, or the terms of the restriction, as appropriate. Drivers who have not renewed or whose licenses have restrictions that are incompatible with driving for an employer will be excluded from driving (as described in the section above).

What are the two new vehicle safety programs?

  • Centralized Driver Record Monitoring

  • Online Defensive Driver Training

Who must participate in the two new vehicle safety programs?

  • Any driver (employee or otherwise) who operates any vehicle for University business that requires a Class A or Class B license, or any of the following special endorsements or certificates: hazardous materials, ambulance, tow truck, farm labor vehicle, school bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, or general public paratransit vehicle

  • Any employee hired specifically as a driver or who has driving listed as an essential job duty

  • Any employee who routinely drives a University vehicle in the course of regular business, or any person (employee or otherwise) who drives a University vehicle five or more times per month

  • Any other person who drives on University business that your department elects to include in the programs

What is Driver Record Monitoring?

Driver Record Monitoring is an electronic notification system that continuously monitors the driving record of those drivers enrolled in the program. Other names for the same process include the Employer Pull Notice Program or Department of Motor Vehicles Pull Program. When a driver is enrolled, the University receives an initial report, an annual report, and supplemental reports whenever new activity appears on the driver’s record. Reported data include license status, moving violations, accidents, and any actions taken against the driving privilege by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Why are you calling Driver Record Monitoring a new program?

Driver Record Monitoring has been required by law and University policy for many years, but what’s new is the requirement that review of driving records be centralized with Fleet Services.

What is Centralized Driver Record Monitoring?

Centralized Driver Record Monitoring is when the above-described monitoring is performed by Fleet Services. If activity on a driving record meets our triggering criteria (link), Fleet Services will notify the driver’s department. If the driver no longer meets the University’s standard for driving on University business, Fleet Services will notify the driver’s department, Risk Services, and Human Resources.

Why do we need Centralized Driver Record Monitoring?

Before centralization, some departments engaged Fleet Services to perform the required monitoring on a recharge basis. Other departments have elected to do so themselves and still others may not have consistently performed this mandated action. Centralized monitoring is needed to ensure that monitoring is consistent and standardized across all departments.

How do I enroll a driver in Driver Record Monitoring?

Because driver’s license numbers are considered protected data, it is important to use secure methods when communicating them to Fleet Services. Do not store license numbers in any electronic format or send them by email. To reduce risk:

  • For California drivers, use the current forms: Driving Record Request Form and INF-1101 (please note that release/disclosure forms for several categories of drivers are still under review). For out-of-state or foreign drivers, please contact fleet@berkeley.edu for further guidance.

  • Print a hardcopy of the completed forms -- do not attempt to save, print to pdf, or print to file
  • Sign the hardcopy

  • Fax the signed hardcopy to 510-643-7917 (our secure fax)

  • Once Fleet Services has confirmed that your driver is enrolled, please destroy or redact whatever physical copies of the license number you possess except for the INF-1101 (or other release/disclosure), which you must securely retain until Fleet Services has confirmed that the driver has been successfully unenrolled from the program

What about drivers that aren’t required to be enrolled in Driver Record Monitoring?

The law still requires your department to perform some form of license verification for anyone who drives a University vehicle, no matter how infrequently (vehicle code 14604). One way to satisfy this requirement is to enroll even non-mandated drivers in Driver Record Monitoring. Another is to perform a Visual License Inspection with Driver Self-Certification (form currently under review).

How do I access the Online Defensive Driver Training course?

The course is hosted at the UC Learning Center and can be accessed using the following links:

For UC Berkeley Staff and Faculty: https://uc.sumtotal.host/Core/search?searchTerm=%22defensive%22&context=activity&domain=4

For Students: https://app.ehs.berkeley.edu/lmsi?searchText=driver

Students, if you experience technical difficulties, please contact the Learning Center directly at: ehstrain@berkeley.edu

The course can be acccessed using Chrome or FireFox with the latest version of Flash not installed. Flash Player will no longer be supported effective December 2020.

At the end of the course, print the training certificate and provide to your Supervisor as verification of completion.

For more information, you can access the website resource document here. This document provides links that will allow you to easily find the agencies, resources and information used for much of this training.

Driver training is one component of the University's standards for Driver Authorization.

What if I can’t log into Blu because I am a student, volunteer, consultant, or other non-employee?

Ask your department to add you as an affiliate to the Human Resources system. For further guidance, please refer to the UC Learning Center Access Assistant from Environment, Health & Safety:

http://www.ehs.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/lines-of-services/training/AccessProblemSolver/story.html

Can my friends, children, or other relatives access the training?

Only if they are affiliated with UC and therefore eligible for access through Blu. However, any member of the public may access the original training that Berkeley’s is based upon. It’s about 45 minutes longer than ours, and can be found on the State’s website at:

http://www.dgs.ca.gov/orim/Programs/DDTOnlineTraining.aspx

What gives the University the right to examine my driving records?

As with any vehicle owner, the University has a general duty under the law to make a reasonable effort to ensure that anyone who drives a University vehicle is properly licensed (vehicle code 14604). What constitutes a reasonable effort depends on the type of driver and the level of driving activity.

  • The law specifically requires that the University monitor driving records for those driving regulated vehicles (see vehicle code 1808.1).

  • The law permits the University to monitor the driving records of others driving on University business. As a matter of systemwide policy (BUS-46), the University elects to do so for anyone hired specifically as a driver and for anyone who drives routinely in the course of regular business.

  • Per systemwide policy, campuses may institute supplemental procedures as needed.

  • As a matter of supplemental procedure, Berkeley considers anyone who drives a University vehicle five or more times per month to meet the criterion of driving routinely.

  • Berkeley also considers any employee with driving listed as a job duty to meet the criterion of hired specifically as a driver.

Equipment Management

Why must my department perform a confirmation of our inventorial equipment every two years?

This is called a "Biennial Inventory," and is required by University of California policy (BFB-BUS29, Section J-1) to verify the safeguarding of inventory by Custodial departments and part of the campus' Property Control System Analysis (PCSA).  The PCSA is an external federal review of all campus processes associated with the acquisition, utilization and safeguarding of its inventorial property.  It is looked upon by funding agencies as confirmation that the University is judicious with the equipment it purchases from their funding.